I just got home, this Christmas Eve morning. I go back at 7 pm tonight, work till 3:30 AM, and go back at 7 PM Christmas Day. I'll be sleeping all day on the holidays; I'm just not tough enough to make it down to my Mom and Dad's Saturday. But, I do plan to go visit them Monday, since I'll finally be off that night.

That's one of the nice things about being a teacher - the holidays and summers off. In fact that's how I got into it... I needed a job when my kids were little that would give me the same days off as my kids, including snow days, so I started subbing and going to school for my certification. I haven't really had summers off. That is when I get a lot of my grad classes in.

State jobs always offer many paid holidays - it's one of the perks we get since it sure isn't the pay . We normally get Christmas eve, Christmas day and the day after Christmas. We got ripped this year because Christmas is on Saturday and the day after is on Sunday. I won't complain, though, since I went home early on Wednesday due to the snow and didn't go in yesterday either. I normally work Tuesday through Friday, so I won't be going in until next Tuesday.

As a "computer guy," I'm on-call 24/7/365. You'd be surprised how many of our top-level executives actually log-in from home and try to get work done nights, weekends and holidays.

(I wish that computer people were issued ID badges like secret agents and doctors in the movies. That way, if we're pulled over by the police for speeding back to the office on an emergency call, we would get the "lights and sirens" escort treatment, and that...would...be...AWESOME! But I digress.)

I agree that people such as hospital workers, the military and volunteers for the less fortunate who work on holidays are just downright saintly. (And, yes, libra, service-industry folks who work holidays are saintly, too.)

As for "Boxing Day," the Britons I met told me that it's because it's the day when all the holiday decorations are "boxed" up. Is it true? Who knows? Maybe they're having one at the expense of the American.

As a "computer guy," I'm on-call 24/7/365. You'd be surprised how many of our top-level executives actually log-in from home and try to get work done nights, weekends and holidays.

(I wish that computer people were issued ID badges like secret agents and doctors in the movies. That way, if we're pulled over by the police for speeding back to the office on an emergency call, we would get the "lights and sirens" escort treatment, and that...would...be...AWESOME! But I digress.)

I agree that people such as hospital workers, the military and volunteers for the less fortunate who work on holidays are just downright saintly. (And, yes, libra, service-industry folks who work holidays are saintly, too.)

As for "Boxing Day," the Britons I met told me that it's because it's the day when all the holiday decorations are "boxed" up. Is it true? Who knows? Maybe they're having one at the expense of the American.

I'll be in my normal spot behind the counter waiting on customers Christmas Eve (till 8pm) and then again on Christmas day (6am-3pm). Ho ho ho!

Another difference in our occupations Libs. We close Christmas Eve around 6 or 7 and are closed on Christmas, opening up at 6 a.m. the day after. Christmas is the only day we close. And the owners of our company are Jewish. Go figure.